Humanity and Trust in Blogging

I’m watching the news today and there’s a lot of talk about the skewed view of politics and how each candidate has been presented and investigated. Mass media is still playing a huge role in the election as well, as we see millions of dollars being thrown into television advertising. It’s a filthy election and one that I’ll be happy to see the end of soon.

The highlight of the campaign has really been the Internet and a voter’s ability (if they bothered using it) to check the facts that each of the candidates (any candidate, not just the President). I believe bloggers have had more honest, transparent and exposing discussions about the candidates than any single television station.

I’ve had spirited discussions with my friends online and off about the campaign. Though I do see some very mean, derogatory remarks pop up from time to time, those folks who I twitter and blog with are respectful of me and I’m respectful of them, regardless of the choice we’re making. That’s pretty cool.

The fact is that the Internet, and especially blogging, has brought a human face to modern communication. We may not have ever met, but you’ve gotten to know me through my blog. Some folks have left, but those of you who have stuck around seem to appreciate what I say and I love the fact that I’m able to share what I find with you. There’s trust between us!

Mass media has worked hard at erecting dehumanized views of our political leaders, big business, and our enemies abroad. I think it’s easier to be compelled into hatred when there’s not a human on the other end. Many of the caricatures we see on television (and I admit, YouTube) are crafted in such a way that it’s easier to dislike or disrespect someone.

The Answer is Blogging

The answer, in my opinion, is to blog. I wish our political leaders blogged (without their architects dubbing and filtering the content). I wish our business leaders blogged. I want to know what’s in the heads of those guys at Exxon. I want to know why a blog post criticizing a bank goes unanswered for over a year. I want to know why mortgage companies would rather foreclose than refinance their customers’ dream homes.

A recent study provides evidence that blogs are a trusted resource for consumers. I recognize that companies only have the goal of making money. When companies realize that the money will actually come when they show humanity and transparency, though, will they continue to avoid blogging?

The Future is Blogging

I look forward, in a few years, to only working with businesses who blog. I look forward to only voting for candidates that blog. I look forward to supporting companies and politicians that can be trusted and shamelessly show their humanity. I look forward to blogs carrying more weight than commercials, or money spent, or even mass media.

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5 Comments

Good points, Doug. This year I did a good amount of online research before making decisions regarding those running for national and local offices. I found a good amount of blog resources with information to help me form my own opinion. I was especially pleased by the amount of information available on local candidates via blogs; there are some very passionate local voices that want to be heard. As you stated, we’re still not to the point where the actual candidates are blogging, so we have to settle for the words of their supporters and detractors.

Right now, with a nation stuck in the mud of both Presidential campaigns, it rings especially true. I’m weary of people believing the rumors and innuendo that our modern “political machines” rely on these days. So many people I talk with believe the gossip rather than research and learn the facts for themselves. Really, it’s our own fault for relying so heavily on mass media for so very long. But that’s changing, isn’t it?

I am thankful for the power of the internet and the empowerment it gives honest, smart blog writers who can open our eyes. Of course, there’s always going to be the dishonest bloggers who distort the facts for their own agendas, but we take the good with the bad. Regardless, I believe blogs will continue to change how news and facts and opinion are shared with and among the public.

When it comes to politics, I expect it may cause the US to evolve from our rather archaic 2 party political system (hard left and hard right) to a broader range of political parties representing more moderate views in the middle of the extremes. I have to think that there are large amounts of moderate view Americans who may not fall neatly into hard-core Democratic or hard-core Republican camps. Up until now, other political parties like the greens and libertarians haven’t really found a significant voice, but the internet could make a difference. What do you think? Could we have a real 3 or 4 party system a dozen years from now?

It’s amazing how many leaders don’t blog. They must be scared of doing something wrong. I believe that stats right now are about %12 of fortune 500 companies have a blog. That is pathetic. I look forward to seeing more blogs from companies and company leaders. I think it’s these kinds of actions that will help them develop more trust and deeper relationships with customers. I don’t know why they don’t get this!

In the rush for sensational and bigger profits, we got use to distortion the reality.

We present you some negative facts which do not onor us and we fight against it !

1. The presentation, with regularity in news reports of the negatives aspects, subjectively commented, taking sides or sententious. 2. The vitiation of Romanian image in the World through resentation of an unauthorized opinions which labels a whole nation after an individual behavior of some Romanians, or even worst, of some Rromi (Gipsy) which have problems with the law. 3. Repeating the same negatives news in a bigger or smaller period of time. 4. The periodic generalization of irregularities, like being a rule to follow or a national character feature. 5. Taking over of unchecked information from persons which has interest and are subordinated of the corrupt triangle ? political man ? business man ? mass media representative, which detour the attention from the true causes of the events. 6. Often, we see how unprofessional broadcasts have as protagonists some characters, citizens which has problems with the law, having a trivial vocabulary, where are revealed information related with the private life or of trials. We warn you that the justice cannot be done with the television and neither influencing the course of an investigation through all sort of maneuvers or diversions which claims that is a journalistic investigation. We ask ourselves on good reason, if the mass-media didn’t develop his client capitalism. 7. To abstain ourselves in the attempt to sub-appreciate the state institutes, to encourage the anarchy and the special interest groups which has as purpose the destruction of the force and the authority of the Romanian national state as a right and democratic state. 8. As we know, the state fundamental law, The Romanian Constitution, claims clearly at article 30, paragraph 6: ?the speech freedom cannot prejudice the dignity, the honor, the private life of the person and neither the right of the self imagine?; paragraph 7: ?are prohibited by law the defamation of the country and the nation, the inducement of the aggression act, at national, racial, class or religion hate, the incitement to discrimination, to territorial separatism to public violence, also the obscene manifestations, which contravene of the good behavior?. Also in article 31, paragraph 3, claims that ?the right to the information cannot prejudice the protection measurements of young or the national security?. 9. In this context, we propose to constitute an organism with juridical authority ?National Council Against Manipulation?, as the existing one, named ?National Council for Disproof of Discrimination?, which will have the purpose to discourage the media, imagine and ideological war, to forbidden the intoxication of the public opinion through disinformation, but also the over-information. 10. We address ourselves to the Romanian President, Mr. Traian Basescu,to apply the Constitutional prerogatives, mentioning the article 30, paragraph 5, which states that: ?the law can impose to the mass media the obligation of making public the source of financing?.

The Parliament will have a big responsibility to modify and complete the informational protection law, by consulting ?the civil and academic society?.

The opinion of interested people in this campaign will be published in Romania and abroad.

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